Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1974 (2. évfolyam, 3-5. szám)

1974 / 5. szám

ARTICLES AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Brown, A. Peter, “The Earliest English Biography of Haydn,” The Musical Quarterly LIX (July 1973), pp. 339-354.

In 1784 a London periodical, European Magazine and London Review, for October printed “An Account of Joseph Haydn, a Celebrated Composer of Music (with an excellent Engraved Likeness of him).’’ The author of the article is not identified, and A. Peter Brown discusses the question concluding that it is probably the work of several or at least put together from a variety of sources. The article is reprinted with corrections in brackets and explanatory footnotes are supplied. Translations from other 18th century journals are also included. EMB

Cernovodeanu, Paul, “Mercantilist projects to promote Transylvania’s Foreign Trade at the beginning of the Habsburg domination, “Journal of European Economic History I (Fall 1972), pp. 409-417.

In the opening years of the 17th century, the Habsburgs sought to create strong trading companies for trade with the Levant, with a center in Transylvania. Prince Bethlen, the advocate of mercantilism, had proposed a trading company along the lines of the Dutch East Indies Companies, which would have involved making the Tisza, Maros, Szamos and Olt into navigable rivers, butthis plan was rejected by the Diet due to the lack of Saxon capital and the presumed lack of experience among the Transylvanian merchants. It was thought they could not successfully compete for the Eastern trade with the English and the others. Consequently, there was no trade between the Austrians and the Turks through Transylvania until 1718 when some pacts were signed. However, Bethlen’s grand scheme was never realized.

NOTE: The author writes as if Bethlen’s Transylvania had been under Habsburg rule and places him almost 100 years later. Gabor Bethlen ruled during 1613-1629. Thus the date given for Bethlen's efforts, 1702, is an obvious error. EMB

Dagon, Roger. “Cooperation Agreements and Joint Ventures with Socialist Business Associations: The Hungarian System.” The American Journal of Comparative Law 21:4 (Fall 1973), pp. 752-758.

A matter-of-fact description of the present legal and political environment, the meaning of “cooperation,” regula(Continued next column)

BOOKS (Continued from page 2)

Szilassy, Sándor. REVOLUTIONARY HUNGARY 1918-1921.

Astor Park, Fla.: Danubia Press with the cooperation of the U. of Tampa, 1971. 143 pages, maps. $4.00 paper.

The author who is Director of Savitz Learning Resources Center at Glassboro State Coll., N.J., covers a three-year period of Hungarian history which has received little unbiased attention. Leading into thediscussionhedescribesthe antecedents of World War I, the negative Hungarian attitude toward war as expressed by Prime Minister Tisza, then focuses on the political, economic, and social consequences of the dismemberment of the Hungarian Kingdom. Governments with widely different ideological concepts have replaced each other rapidly during this period, thus making Hungary a testing ground for new ideas and new forms. He concludes with a description of the beginning of consolidation. The appendix contains ten carefully selected political and diplomatic documents of the period.

tion of cooperation agreements, the extent of liability of State-owned enterprises, settlement of disputes, and joint ventures. The author is an attorney-at-law in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dea'k, Istva'n. “The Month of Defiance: Revolutionary Hungary in September 1848.” East Central Europe 1:1 (1974) pp. 35-53.

Events which took place in September are characterized as leading up to a “turning point” in Hungary’s struggle for independence. Both, a political offensive by Vienna and military invasion by Croatia under the leadership of Jelacic took place in this month, followed by dramatic events which made the War of I ndependence unavoidable. The author says that “there is no study of the Hungarian 1848 in any Western language, and what there is in Hungarian needs considerable updating and rethinking.” The paper is to become a chapter in the author’s forthcoming book Louis Kossuth and the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.

Gömöri, George, “Attila József and the Poetry of the Conscious Mind," Books Abroad 48 (Winter 1974), pp. 58-64.

The rebellious poetry of his youth was transformed into revolutionary negation, especially after his trip abroad. But his poetry shows a wide range and remains basically classicist in principle. Though influenced by many trends, both literary and otherwise, his poetry retained a startling originality. However, it does have symbolistic and existentialist overtones. A mixture of despair and desperate hope is seen in his concern with social problems. The complex personal poems of his last years reach new lyrical expressions. His poetry reflects his mastery of Hungarian, and thus remains inferior in translation; he achieves a synthesis of the ancient and the modern, the sensual and the abstract, the individual and the universal. Furthermore, he is very relevant in the 20th century which still grapples with his problems. A selected bibliography and three poems are included, the poems taken from the translation of John Bakti appeared in the South Dakota Review 9 (1971) pp. 36-44. EMB Horvath, Robert, “The Malthusian Ideas on Population and Hungarian Demography before World War II,” Journal of European Economic History I (Fall, 1972), pp. 273-297.

An outline or review of the “advent and penetration of Malthusian scientific thought from the 18th century to the end of World War II.” Briefly lists and comments on the works that discussed Hungarian economic development in Malthusian terms in the 18th and early 19th centuries, then deals with the role of Széchenyi and Kossuth, who put some of these ideas into practice. After 1867, Malthusian ideas again received an academic rather than practical orientation. After World War I, any kind of economic planning was difficult due to the loss of 71.4% of the country’s territory and 63.6% of its population. Then, after World War II a new period began again. EMB

Library of Congress. The New Foreign Exchange Regulations of the Hungarian People's Republic. Intro, and transl. by Dr. William Sólyom-Fekete. 1974, 65 pages.

This is a publication in the Law Library Studies series, and contains a translation of the foreign exchange regulations, various government edicts, resolutions and decrees on foreign exchange management. The introduction lucidly describes the setting and interprets some of the language usages. For copies write to Office of the Law Librarian of Congress, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540.

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HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER No. 5, 1974,

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